Read Online Annie by Thomas Meehan - Free Book Online

on, boy, we gotta hurry, run!” called Annie, and the little girl and the dog fled from the alley and ran eastward along West 45th Street, away from the river and toward midtown Manhattan. As they ran, Annie felt herself suddenly filled with joy. For it dawned on her that she’d said good-bye forever to Fred, Gert, and Bixby’s Beanery. She was homeless again, of course, adrift in the vast city without a penny. But the drizzly May morning was at least warm, and this time she wasn’t running away alone. She had a dog. A dog of her own!

Six
    A nnie and the dog had gone only three blocks when they were stopped by a harsh voice calling out, “Hey, you, little girl, come here!” Oh, no, thought Annie, her heart sinking, the Bixbys have already got the police after me. Turning, she saw that the man who’d shouted at her was indeed a policeman, tall and burly and menacingly swinging his nightstick. “Yes, Officer?” said Annie sweetly, trying to act very innocent as she dropped the dog’s rope and strolled up to him.
    â€œThat dog over there,” said the policeman, “ain’t I seen him runnin’ around the neighborhood? Ain’t he a stray?”
    Annie gulped. “A stray?” she managed to get out. “Oh, no, Officer. He’s . . . he’s my dog.”
    â€œYour dog, huh?” said the policeman skeptically. “So what’s his name?”
    â€œHis name?” said Annie, looking first at the policeman and then over at the dog, stalling for time, trying to think as fast as she could. “His name is . . . Sandy. Right, that’s it, Sandy. I call him Sandy, you see, because of his nice sandy color.”
    â€œSandy color, huh?” repeated the policeman, still not believing her. “Okay, let’s see him answer to his name.”
    â€œAnswer?” said Annie, gulping again. “You mean . . . when I call him?”
    â€œRight,” said the policeman. “When you call him. By his name. Sandy.”
    â€œWell, you see, Officer,” said Annie, “I just got him and sometimes he doesn’t answer when—”
    â€œCall him!” snapped the policeman.
    â€œOkay,” said Annie with a sigh, turning to the dog and patting her knees. “Here, Sandy. Here, boy. Come on, Sandy.”
    For what seemed to Annie like forever, the dog stood motionless, staring at her with his huge woebegone eyes. But then his eyes suddenly brightened, and he trotted over to Annie and jumped up to put his paws on her shoulders.
    â€œGood Sandy,” said Annie, smiling from ear to ear. “Good old Sandy.”
    â€œHmm,” said the policeman. “Well, maybe he is your dog. But next time you take him out I wanna see him on a leash and with a license. Or else he goes to the dog pound and that’ll be the end of him. You understand?”
    â€œYes, sir, I understand,” said Annie. “On a leash and with a license.”
    â€œNow, get along home with you, you and your dog,” said the policeman, turning and walking off down the sidewalk.
    â€œYes, Officer,” said Annie. As soon as the policeman was out of sight around a corner, Annie and the dog took off running again, hurrying to get as far as they could from Bixby’s Beanery. Sandy, thought Annie as they ran, that’s the perfect name for my beautiful new dog. And from that moment on he was Sandy, forever.
    At last, out of breath from having run without stopping for nearly half an hour, Annie pulled Sandy into an alley and they sat down to rest. “Good Sandy,” said Annie, gently patting the dog. Sandy, she saw, still looked sad and frightened. “Don’t worry, Sandy, I’ll take care of you, good care,” said Annie. “And everything’s gonna be fine. For the both of us. If not today, well . . .” Annie looked up at the leaden sky. “The sun’ll come out